Baseball's Most Corrupt Problem Is Getting Worse 

I lived in the DR for a service mission about 15 years ago and ran into all sorts of issues with people not having IDs because there was no record of their birth. It was common practice to use a family member's birth certificate to get an ID even with people who were not baseball prospects. The record keeping is not functional, especially in the less urbanized area. I also witnessed kids that were 14-15 having their coaches casually give them steroids in the middle of a conversation. It is just part of the culture because if the kid can make it out of the country, that not only guarantees the kid financial security but also their whole extended family financial freedom.

Lying about ages is mentioned in Jim Bouton's book "Ball Four" (1970). He said some players had a real age and a "baseball age" which was much younger. Ball Four is a great book.

I heard Wander Franco also nullified somebody's agreement for being too old

I know a kid in Caracas, Venezuela who is not even 4 yet who rakes like a gardener and has already been promoted within the Tiburones BBC system. He could sign by the time he's 5.

That braves gm was my assistant little league coach a few years ago lol

As the MLB says…Let the kids play! ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Almonte's NY team didn't win the LLWS in 2001. They lost in the US final to Florida. Japan won the championship over Florida.

Never had this issue back when baseball was just a summer game and a part time job. MLB will never stop this. These kids have nothing in the DR and will do anything to play in the U.S.

He was two feet taller than everyone else in the game. He was not a victim.

Putting "gate" at the end of whatever scandal may be happening is the laziest shit. Watergate was a hotel. I never stayed at the Agegate hotel. I heard Wander did though, HEYOHHHHH!

Implicating Pujols is classless, based on nothing. You should, at the least, include that if he was 25, not 20, his rookie year... He would've shattered the homerun record. That's at least 800.

Thank you sooooo much for doing a video on this topic!!

shocker lol wait til people find out peds are still widely used in baseball

I remember watching the 2001 LL WS on family vacation in NC, and they were all the same age as me at the time, and we were blown away at how dominant Danny almonte was. We thought he might be too old, but figured the little league did their due-diligence to make sure

Solution: Instead of teams having their own development systems in these countries, there is an MLB-run set of systems that all teams have access to. There is no international amateur free agent signing, but rather a draft that all players in the pipeline of a certain age become eligible for. The MLB itself does age verification, and no player under the age of 21 is allowed to be signed by an mlb team without coming through the pipeline. Teams and players have no incentive to change, so take their power away.

Leave Pujols out of this. If you can't get evidence saying he lied after this long then he's the age he says he is. You telling me he lied about his age to play HS ball in Missouri and get drafted in the 13th round? Do some real research instead of just insinuating he lied without proof

Imagine if wander Franco was actually 17 right now.

Maybe.. Just maybe people should stop recruiting children altogether and MLB should have to vet every player (international and domestic). It's their job to regulate the league, so do it.

This is a minor issue compared to salary inequities that allow a handful of teams to spend huge amounts of money on their teams while small markets struggle and can only hope that their minor leagues allow them to build talent and then they cant keep these players for more than 1-3 years. The non-competitiveness of each baseball league robs the ;league of eyeballs to watch their games. It's not getting better!

Normally I would doubt the title... But this is baseball... And this is Issac.

Something similar happened when my brother and I were in the youth baseball league in Fort Walton Beach, Florida in 1985. I was in the 13-16 year old division and my brother was in the 9-12 year old division. If you turned 13 by July 1, you were in the older kids division, and with my birthday in April, that put me in that division. Our neighbor and friend Mike turned 13 in either late July or early August, so he was in the younger kids division and was on my brother's team. As he was bigger than the other kids on the team and was fairly tall for his age, parents of kids on other teams accused my brother's team of having a player older than the age limit.

Players would be more honest with their ages if scouts didn't see older youths as less desirable. And it's a damn shame teams don't update their antiquated scouting methods. We need to grow the game and give everybody a chance.

If I recall correctly before he was part of the Alex Rodriguez trade between the Yankees and Texas, Alfonso Soriano was reported to be 26 and as part of the trade (checking medical records I assume) it came out that he was actually 28.

Great video . Just stumbled on to your content not too long ago, love the channel

Junior Felix is believed to be as much as 10 years older than his "baseball age," which is why his major league career fizzled out so quickly after a promising beginning.

Been going on forever. Personally, I would never sign a Latino player to a multi-yr deal after he was 30.

To me that is an agents and coaches issues trying to make more money for themself, not for the prospect,,so if MLB want to punishe someone they have to punish agents and coaches ,not the kids ,,the kids just want to play baseball.

But I think Albert grew up in the US.

That is the problem with all sports today. Too much money involved either now or in the future.

Pujols was DRAFTED... DRAFTED when he was 19. I don't see him having a chance to cheat because he left DR to LIVE in the US not to play baseball. Why would he lie if we see players over 22 getting drafted top 5? Somebody's gonna have to unravel those tricks for me to understand Blame the parents, blame the academies, blame the teams. I see disgusting when they ''buy'' 10, 11, 12 years old kids. I'm not a fan of the draft, but something should be done against the already mention guilties. Another edge is that people from other countries (Haiti) come with no birth certificate, even go to school without it. we have seen a growth in contracts from that country but with Dominican documentation that tends to be altered .

I gotta be honest, I'm kinda shocked that you say the young players lying about their age is the problem when teams have actually developed the mindset that being 16 years old diminishes their value to such an extent. I understand the need to develop talent, but we're talking about kids that are over a decade away from their prime, and may not even be playing for the same team by that time. If this is how things are, they deserve to be lied to. It's insane.

Is there a documentary about this? I’d like to know more about this situation in the DR.

Have you been to the Dominican ? There is no problem. These guys work their ass off to have the opportunity to play . They have nothing there . Wish Americas worked as hard as these guys .

The fact that 2 Little League teams hired a private investigator😂😂😂😂 it's little league it's not that serious

Honestly, based on this video's title, I thought it was going to be about the umpires.

imagine a Domnican magazine investigator looking in to civil books in the US? There were a lot of people involved mostly the team owner i forgot his name but he eve paid dannys family, Today danny is a coach for school in morris park section of the bronx, it sucks cause he could of have a future, ruined by fking greety peeps, my quesion is ho many other countries are investigated? do they go to cuba or venezuela?

Only way we'll really know if they're old enough or not is if we get Wander Franco on the case

Simple fix is to recruit more American players

This would make an fantastic documentary

Corruption? In a Latin American country? My, whoodathunkit?

Baseball Doesn’t Exist did a great video on this topic a long time ago. Worth the watch!

This is a HUGE deal. I will barely be able to sleep tonight.

Hold tournaments of 16 17 and 18 19 yr olds, make them play eachother have a draft like everything else no signing before 18 spend money on baseball in their cities give all kids who qualify as prospects the same amount a year 5k no more signing anyone hold drafts that way top prospects help loser teams first teams can trade picks to move up in line etc just like the nfl and nba make them play til their 18 that way they wont lie if youre good at 16, youll be better at 18 if your 20 then that means you waited passed 18 19 and took a chance, you may never be picked which no one will do problem solved next case 😉

Great stuff, keep the stories coming.

So wait... you can strip a title from a little league team when ONE player's parents lie about their kids age, but the Astros get to keep their 2017 title??? How does that make any sense?????? Edit: Whoa, I had no idea how many butt hurt Astros fans would see this comment

No best is when they caught glimpses of little league pitcher that had a special glove made since he pitched both right and left handed and eventually needed a rule put in play the pitchers that are like this must pick what arm they are using for the batter so switch hitters can’t constantly just move to the other side of the plate then pitcher just switch hands. Forgot who made it in the MLB being able to do this but a little leaguer was like this

I dont blame them for some guys saying they're younger than they are. It gives them a better chance to get signed. Bartlo Colon is definitely a good example. He was throwing 84 mph when he was scounted but the indians took a chance on him because he said he was 18. He was really 20 and if he hadnt said he was younger he'd probably never be signed and then improve to become the legend he is now.

full disclosure#1: this is super long (sorry) but, imho, pretty worth reading for folks who’ve spent way too much time thinking about u.s. professional sports way too much. full disclosure#2: grew up hating all houston teams due to simple geography (dallas), & this is when they all sucked (most of time/mid to late 80s+). exceptions: pre jr richard’s heartbreaking tragedy (virdon’s on hook for that collapse imho) & obvi the dream (ao) & his teams were unimpeachable. oilers never not a joke-even when good. but more than anything i always hated houston fans w/ a venom equaling the stupidity (geography/tribalism/indoctrination) in my reasoning (mostly). every fanbase has its low-hanging fruit & i was just a kid (at first). basically, i’ve grown up a bit & recognized some patterns i now both disavow & try to own. but c’mon, nobody (me) imagined astros being moved to a.l. & becoming the juggernaut they did/are. these 2 things & their unique unlikeability (yeah, me again) renewed my hatred which had zero to do w/ being lifelong rangers fan (yeah, sarcasm). fyi, being half-life cowboy fan gave me some perspective & so much eventual shame (would rather watch cowboy game w/ ♾️ eagles fans than 1 cowboy fan). almost there . . . all that said, the following ‘excuses’ for ‘getting caught’ cheating will never not be laughable, moronic & pathetic: 1. everybody was doing it 2. it was going on for years 3. it’s ancient history, get over it 4. any other excuse while all of these are true to extent, using them makes one a sad, small & silly person. & i should know b/c i’ve been that person. so the ones who need to let it go, accept the shame & learn to carry it are the astros (specifically) & their fans (who had nothing to do w/ the actual goddamned cheating). then the rest of us not as good at cheating should follow suit. & then we can all get together & realize that mlb-the owners & their water boys, err, commissioners-are always the ones responsible for these type scandals, & essentially all others. it’s called banking in case y’all hadn’t noticed that whole money angle. alright, maybe not worth reading all this. my bad.

Is this any different than American high school kids whose parents hold them back a year, so they get more time to develop in their sport of choice...

I went to Highschool with Danny, He hated that he was only ever known for that. Dude was a great pitcher and led us to two championships in his three years there.

I played on the pa team in 97 dudes on the world teams had 18 year olds on it

If a person is legally of age, which means 18 in the modern world, what they say their age is, or what their age is listed as is irrelevant. They're paid to play, and if they can play, where's the beef? Making deals as a minor is another matter. Then again, in the United States, prep football players announce commitments to collegiate programs at an early age. I don't think these early commitments are legally binding, and there cannot be a quid pro quo above the table. But they still are announced.

Prolly a much bigger problem lying about zip codes

Watch the movie “Sugar” about Dominican ball players, great movie

I don’t understand. If you play major league baseball. Who cares how old you are?

You guys might not believe me but I know guys that are 17 trowing 92 18 trowing 93 and they don’t like them . They said that they are old . I know guy that plays random team That in every game he plays at least one home run but he’s like 20 . He make two home runs of me I think , I myself am kinda good but I know that if I go to dr I’ll get laugh at . I have a friend that at 15 being lefty was training 80 and guess what happens 😑. I wish it was different, that age restrictions

Who cares! If teams want to spend $1M on a kid who just exited the birth canal, their gamble, their bad.....

I just hope the kids aren’t being abused. A lot of times you hear stuff like this it usual comes back around to also have some abuse stuff

As a Cardinals fan i also sometimes think Pujols looks older than his age but he looks about 10 years older 😂😂😂

I'm not even sure about Juan Soto to be honest. That man looks older than 25 to me...

What will happen to the 50 nullifoed agreements? Have the investigators establish a "real age"? If so imagine a current kid currently 15, lied about his age to get his bonus, but said kid will turn 16 sometime in the calender year 2024 and will then be eligible to be signed. I know the Orioles still have slightly over $2M left in their bonus pool. That would have been genius on their part knowing this would happen and then have the ability to scoop several "million dollar bonus babies" up throughout the course of the year as they begin to actually turn 16. Wishful thinking perhaps?

The key to this issue is the lack of good governance in these nations. Things we take for granted in the US are spotty at best. From birth certificates to documented education systems to even a law based judicial system. Every nation with poor governance is also a nation that is targeted by both its own government and others. So the question one must ask is this; why are nations like the Dominican Republic so poorly governed? Because in spite of the poverty, exploitation, and abuse that comes with such a situation, the people are accepting of it. That's it. The whole story. From their perspective, MLB is offering a way out of the place and they are likely not interested in fixing the problem. Which, again, is NOT an MLB problem, but a government problem.

The baseball players in 8th grade in the US are 15. It’s Nona Dominican problem

Another excellent video. Been subscribed for awhile with notifications on. I LOVE YOUR CONTENT!! Thanks for all your hard work.

Us players sign between 17 to 21. What's the big deal with these kids. It's all about looking for a way to pay less for these kids.

When Orlando Hernandez was 28 after having a 15 year career in Cuba 🤣

I guess treating teens like adults is a thing in the dominican republic too bad for wander franco he couldnt find an 18yrold in the dominican republic who wasnt all smashed in by 18 😂

Pro sports is a waste of money. Horrible people get a free ride to secondary education because they can play a sport and end up leaving to go pro without graduating. Every NFL player states what school they went to at every chance, yet no menton of grades or what they even majored in. What a sham.

Wow that's crazy corrupt very informative.

I can tell u for a fact, MLB knows it, and are allowing it

It’s “Due Diligence” that needs to be done on buyers part. That’s all. This is business.

When they awarded the Houston Astros their 'World Series Trophy' after using cameras, buzzers and trash cans... That was it for me. MLB is a joke.

Any international player should only be signed as a free agent with zero signing bonus. That solves the problem. The opportunity should be payment enough for any international player to get their work visa for the season.

Satchel Paige did it. Told folks he was 31 when he was really 48.

Iconic "I am 12" Talks

WHO GETS SCREWED ARE AMERICAN PLAYERS WHO ARE HONEST . THEY LOSE OUT ON THEIR BONUSES AND TO EVEN SIGN. WAKE UP!

The concept of people cheating in Little League baseball is so bizarre to me. Do any of the adults in charge of the teams get anything from winning?

It’s probably a lot worse in Venezuela

Why not have all players in academies and competing in international events submit blood work?

Bartolo Colon suddenly became two years older in the early 2000s

His problem with this seems absurd, I mean it's not like taking steroids. What difference does it make if you lie about your age in baseball? Obviously, it's a big deal if you're a Little Leaguer but not if you're a pro ballplayer.

Giving a 14 year old 1 million... well good for the poor kids.

Sounds like a DR issue

The worst scandal in baseball are the home plate umpires baseball need automatic strikes or balls

I've wondered about this before , quite a lot actually. I mean it's wild that a full 3rd of mlb players are latino.

Strip the Astros of the ‘17 title. Yeah, others did it, but Houston won the Series. What, you want NY’s division title stripped too? Ok.

The saying "No one is coming to scout your 12 year old travel team" seems to be only in America.

Great topic to shed light on, fire video 🔥

"BASEBALL'S MOST CORRUPT PROBLEM!" Wait...this video isn't about Angel Hernandez. WTF? Oh...CORRUPT! I thought you said INCOMPETENT.

The DR problem is that you don’t have to register the child birth for months to years and this is one of those reasons as well

So did Danny's parents keep him back two years in school?

When you come from a impoverished background. You have to do whatever it takes to make it out…. You can’t blame these kids from Dominican Republic Cuba Venezuela Colombia Panama Mexico Sorry not sorry

remember Fausto Carmona?

Don't forget about Fausto Carmona/Roberto Hernandez

If a player is 19 he won’t get 50k he won’t get signed at all in DR if you are 16 your already too old to get signed if you haven’t commited to a team at 14 so if your 19 and the only way your gonna get signed is by lying then that’s what’s gonna happen either poor or help out your family players in DR don’t care what people in the USA think of think of them because your not gonna help out his mom who’s making less than 20 dollars a week working 12 hours a day

Damn this is actually crazy

Problems can't be corrupt. There, I said it.

Wanna fix the problem? Either stop recruiting from these countries or place a long temporary ban on them. There are plenty of countries that play by the rules.

so interesting how we have these facilities in 3rd world nations to create baseball players when we have poor Americans that cant afford to play baseball in the US. So interesting how that works.

Chicago and New York breaking the rules... I AM SHOCKED!